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LIU Atlas - Gemellus Mal . There are billions of stars, millions of planets, but there is only one man, Terrance McDoogal. Welcome to LIU Atlas. . LIU Atlas - Gemellus Mal
The Ludgonian Industrial Union's galaxy contains billions of stars and billions of planets. Unfortunately, most residents of the LIU could only name a handful of these worlds. In order to improve astronomy grades across the LIU, TV2 has started a new program called LIU Atlas. Follow our host, Terrance McDoogal, as he takes you on a tour across the LIU and some of its more obscure worlds.
Note: This episode is presented in full screen. The corresponding dialogue is underneath each photo.
Doog: “Welcome to another episode of LIU Atlas. I’m your host, Terrance “Doog” McDoogal. Today, were visiting an asteroid known as Gemellus Mal. Gemellus Mal is lagrangian asteroid, meaning it is not located in an asteroid belt, but instead in the L4 point of the nearby gas planet Praebitor.”
Doog: “A large facility appears to have been built into the asteroid. Three hangar doors grace one side of the facility. We’re going to set the Magellan down here and head inside.”
Doog: “Alright, I’ve been dropped off inside the facility. This appears to be some sort of airlock. I can’t venture any further into the facility, so I’ll wait here for my guide.”
Cautus: “Not an airlock, it’s a grav-lock. Hello there. I’m Cautus, Chief Safety Officer for Gem-Mal Industries.”
Doog: “A grav-lock?”
Cautus: “Yes, this asteroid is small; its gravity is one sixteenth standard gravity. To make arrivals easier, we use gravity generators to compensate.”
Doog: “So, once were outside the grav-lock, we’ll only be experiencing one sixteenth gravity? Sweet.”
Cautus: “Not quite. We’ll be wearing magnetic boots like these. They’ll keep you adhered to the floor and simulate standard gravity. We can’t have you floating about, banging into our delicate equipment. I’ll get you some in a moment, but, before we continue, I need to brief you on evacuation procedures.”
Doog: “Sigh. Do we have to?”
Twenty Minutes Later…
Cautus: “Did you really have to fake yawn during my entire presentation?”
Doog: “Hey, those weren’t fake. You were literally putting me to sleep!”
Cautus: “Well, I hope you listened. It’s important stuff.”
Doog: “Let’s face it. If there’s a catastrophic failure, I’m too slow to make it out anyway. Especially with these awkward boots.”
Cautus: “Well, maybe. But I wish you would have taken my recommendation to wear a hard hat. I know it’s optional, but I don’t want to see you get a head injury.”
Doog: “Not much to protect in my head, Cautus.”
Doog: “So what can you tell me about this place?”
Cautus: “The facility produces antimatter, specifically antihydrogen.”
Doog: “Antihydrogen?”
Cautus: “Identical to hydrogen, but with an opposite charge. Instead of protons and electrons, antihydrogen has positrons and antiprotons. In laymen‘s terms, antihydrogen is hydrogen’s evil twin. When the two particles collide, they annihilate each other releasing high amounts of gamma rays and neutrinos.”
Doog: “So what is used for?”
Cautus: “It has lots of uses, power generation, propulsion systems, and weapons.”
Cautus: “This is our particle accelerator. It helps us produce antimatter.”
Doog: “It’s long. I can’t even see the end. By the way, that’s what she said.”
Cautus: “I’m sure she did. Especially the ‘can’t even see’ part. Anyway, the accelerator is a large circle with a circumference of approximately 20 miles. It wraps all the way around the asteroid.”
Cautus: “Hydrogen atoms are accelerated using electromagnetic fields until they approach the speed of light.”
Doog: “And that makes antimatter?”
Cautus: “No, the collision does. Follow me.”
Cautus: “Once the atoms reach max speed they are routed onto this linear track and smashed into one another inside this collider.”
Doog: “Reminds me of playing chicken on my hover bike as a child.”
Cautus: “There is a little more energy involved here, Doog.”
Cautus: “The collision creates several rare forms of exotic matter, including positrons and antiprotons. These particles are trapped in magnetic fields and combined into antimatter.”
Doog: “Easy as that huh?”
Cautus: “There’s some steps I may have glossed over. I’m the safety officer, not a scientist.”
Doog: “Fair enough. It’s the end result that matters anyway. So, what’s next?”
Cautus: “Magnetic fields force the antihydrogen down this tube to the collection chamber. Let’s head downstairs.”
Cautus: “Each collision only results in one atom of antimatter, so the accelerator must make millions of collisions a day to make any worthwhile amounts. After each collision, the antihydrogen drops down into the collection tank.”
Doog: “Wow, what’s this?”
Cautus: “This is it, the collector.”
Doog: “The antihydrogen is that red blob? And its just out in the open like that?”
Cautus: “It’s hardly in the open. It’s behind several layers of magnetic shielding. Inside the shield is a matter free zone. Don’t forget. Any matter that touches antimatter, or vice versa, will result in a high energy explosion.”
Doog: “What kind of explosion are we talking about?”
Cautus: “Well, a one kilogram collision between matter and antimatter will create an explosion of 180 petajoules, or the equivalent of a 27,000 kilogram thermonuclear weapon.”
Doog: “So a big one. A really big one.”
Cautus: “Considering there are thousands of kilograms of antimatter in the tank right now, we’re talking about the total destruction of this asteroid.”
Doog: “So, no touching, I presume.”
Cautus: “Obviously, hydrogen is a gas, and its counterpart is no different. Gas is harder to control, so we’ve compressed the antihydrogen into a liquid. It‘s also easier to ship in this form.”
Cautus: “Obviously you can’t just throw antihydrogen in a box and ship it out.”
Doog: “Obviously…wait, why not?”
Cautus: “Because it can’t touch matter! Geez, I’ve only said that a few hundred times.”
Doog: “Oh yeah, I do recall you saying something about that.”
Cautus: “Anyway, we designed special stasis containers to ship the antihydrogen. These boxes have there own power supply so they can maintain their own magnetic field.”
Cautus: “Auto-Loaders transport the containers. We can’t afford operator error.”
Doog: “That’s it?”
Cautus: “Yes, that’s our operation from start to finish.”
Doog: “Well folks, Gemellus Mal is a both a high-tech and high-risk place. Scientists here put their lives on the line to produce antihydrogen, a form of antimatter. This dangerous, but valuable form of matter is used in everything from propulsion systems to advanced weaponry. See ya next time!”
Notes:
1. Gemellus Mal was moved to its current location so that it would be closer to the gas planet Praebitor, an abundant source of hydrogen.
2. Gram for gram, antihydrogen is one of the most expensive substances in the universe.
3. Several years ago, the freighter Hard Money, which was carrying several tons of antihydrogen, suffered a containment failure, resulting in a massive gamma ray burst. The explosion could detected for millions of light years. It remains one of the most expensive accidents in LIU history.
4. The loss of the Hard Money forced the LIU to redesign its transporting containers and reevaluate its procedures involving the transportation of antihydrogen.